The Dive Into the Youth Participation in Sports training recap
As part of the programme, Siiri Turunen, participated as a guest speaker and presented the youth participation project of the Finnish Coaches Association (Suomen Valmentajat). Turunen was involved in the development and implementation of the project, which explored practical ways of bringing young people’s perspectives and experiences into the development of sport.
The presentation generated considerable interest among the participants. Discussions focused not only on the project itself, but also on how similar approaches could be adapted to different countries and sporting environments. The exchange highlighted a strong shared interest in finding practical ways to give young people a more meaningful role in shaping sport across Europe.
The conversations in Vierumäki demonstrated that youth participation is increasingly recognised as an important issue across the European sports sector. Participants discussed common challenges faced by sports organisations: how to reach young people, how to create meaningful opportunities for them to contribute, and how to move from simply consulting young people towards involving them in planning, implementation and decision-making.
While the structures and contexts of sport vary considerably between countries, the discussions revealed many shared ambitions. Sports organisations need ways to create environments where young people are not only participants in activities designed by adults, but have opportunities to influence what those activities look like and how organisations develop. Strengthening youth participation is not only about creating structures for young people; it is about ensuring that their experiences, ideas and priorities are genuinely heard and reflected in the development of sport. Meaningful participation means creating space for young people’s experiences, ideas and priorities to influence what organisations do.
The interest in the Finnish Coaches Association’s project demonstrated the value of sharing concrete examples of youth participation in practice. Experiences from one organisation or country can provide inspiration for others while also raising new questions about how participation can be strengthened in different contexts.
This connects closely with the objectives of EUYOUSPORT projec, which promotes youth participation and engagement in sport and creates opportunities for young people and sports organisations to learn from one another across Europe.
European cooperation provides an important platform for this exchange. Bringing together organisations from different sporting environments makes it possible to identify common challenges, share approaches and develop new ideas for involving young people more meaningfully.
The Dive Into the Youth Participation in Sports training created an inspiring space for dialogue between people committed to strengthening youth participation in sport. The next step is to turn these conversations into action: creating meaningful opportunities for young people to participate, giving them real responsibilities and ensuring that their voices are heard when decisions about the future of sport are made.
Strengthening youth participation across Europe is ultimately about developing a sports culture in which young people are recognised not only as participants, but as active contributors, co-creators and partners in shaping the sport.
